COUNTY CENTRES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLIV, Issue 10105, 6 May 1924, Page 8

COUNTY CENTRES

\From Our Own Correspondents.)

PENDARVES, 'On Friday evening the Tennis Club ' - iheld a dance as a wind-up to the j season. Owing to the bad weather the attendance was not so large as had ■ been expected, but nevertheless those who had braved the rain and cold were rewarded by an enjoyable evening. The .music was provided by Mr W. Rankin, and extras were played by Miss Ida Bruce (Sea-field) and Mr Eric Rankin. Mr J Lambie was M.C. During the evening songs were sung by Messrs M. Bruce, W. Halliday, and P. Hanrahan. On Friday evening the Hall Committee will hold a euchre tournament .in aid of the hall funds. rA-kaia. At St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church -on Sunday evening the Rev; F. Rule, of Christchurch, was the preacher, and -gave a very interesting address on social service work. A retiring collection was taken up on behalf of the Presbyterian orphanages. Miss Packer’s music pupils gave a very enjoyable afternoon in St. Mark s Sunday School on Saturday. _ A large number of parents and friends' was present. A programme of violin and pianoforte selections and songs .was given by the pupils present, assisted by Miss Packer. Afternoon tea was served. A collection was taken up in aid of the fund for Armenian refugees. At the last* shoot of the Rakaia Miniature Rifle Club, H. Cromie won vthe sweepstake for the evening with •a score of 34 —1, G. Cromie being runner-up with a score of 33 —1, The hotty button ’ was won in the first ■shoot-off by H. Cromie with a score , of 34, after tying with.G. Cromie (34) •and h. Oakley (34). The sweepstake shoot for the previous week was completed, and resulted in a win for A. Oakley (34), with R. Boag (33). second. 'The next shoot will be for Mr W J. Xee’s trophy, and will be awarded to the member making the highest average in three competitions.

METHVEN. The Loyal Methven Lodge, 1.0.0. F., M.TJ., have .decided to hold a series of social evenings during the winter months commencing on Thursday. The Tublic 'Hall has been engaged, and music for a dance has been arranged Tor. The first social will take the form of progressive euchre till 10.30 p.m., dancing until 2 a.m. The following have been appointed a social committee : —-Messrs A. L. Mangin (chairman), R. Duff, E. Kilworth. E. "Vaughan, F. Anderson, A. W. Wilson, and C. H. Ireland (secretary). Mr Wingate Lewitt, of the staff of the Bank of New Zealand, Methven, has received notice of his transfer to Akaroa.

South-west rain set in at Methven on Saturday afternoon .and continued until late in the evening, 33 points being registered.

; FAIRTON. The annual harvest festival at the Fairfield Church was held on Sunday .•afternoon, and was conducted bv the r ßev. J. F. Wiseman, vicar of St. Tim senior members of the vchoir accompanied the vicar, and in addition to leading the singing of .special psalms and hymns '-ave as a isong of praise Jackson’s “ Te Deum.” The vicar took as his text the words: “The sower went forth to sow,” and preached an impressive sermon on the fruits of good sowing and , profitable reaping, not only in respect to grain, but also in respect to the rich harvest which resulted from men, women, and; children leading good, pure lives. The . church was tastefully decorated with a; -wealth of grain, fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

CHERTStY.

On Saturday afternoon the ladies of ,£he Presbyterian Church held a bazaar Hn-the hall, with the object of raising funds for church improvements. The bazaar was opened by the Rev. A. S. Morrison, of Rakaia, and in spite of .the wet weather! the attendance was very good, the warmth and brightness of "the hall offering inviting contrast to the wintry conditions out of doors. The various stalls were attractively arranged, and the goods displayed were of excellent value. The stall of plain sewing was in the hands of Mrs John Doig, Mrs F. Ironside and Mrs W, Anderson, while the fancy stall was in the charge of Miss Daisy Doig, assisted by the Misses Mary Lambie, Isobel Halliday and Ailsa Rankin. The .sweets stall was in the care of the Misses Phyllis and Clara McKee, Rita and Freda Ironside, Tui Smart, Eileen Doig and Madge Cameron, all of whom were members of the Girls’ Auxiliary. The produce stall was well attended to by Messrs John and Paul Doig and R. Croy, and in the stalls trade was so •brisk that by evening very little remained to be sold. Refreshments were iin the hands of Mesdames Robert 'Croy, Andrew Doig, James Doig, J. S. McKee, Redman, W. Cain, Paul ' Doig, J. Cameron, E. Dunstan, and Miss Anderson. Three long tables had 7 been set, prettily decorated with cosmeas, valvia bonfire and Michaelmas •daisies, and those in charge had an extremely strenuous time attending to the wants- of their many customers. In a remote corner, two bran tubs, pre;sided over by Mrs A. Garland and Miss Muriel Garland, offered alluring possibilities td old and young alike. 'Misses L. Murchie and D. McCann pa- . .trolled the hall with a cake for a WGiglit guessing competition, IMi o, . Gaidand for a doll’s name competition. 'There was also the usual sheep weigutguessing competition in connection wit 12 the produce stall, while iu anotner direction, amid much noise and laughter, nail-driving and candle-lighting competitions were in progress, the formei Ling run by Masters 0. Croy and K. McKee, the latter by Masters E. Cioj and 0. Doig. /•"?' . If i In the evening the hall was cleared and put in readiness for Mr Craighead’s concert party from Ashburton, and in a short time every available seat was taken. The concert programme included an opening chorus by the whole party ; songs by Miss Oakley, Miss Down, and Mrs Craighead; monologues by Miss G. Galbrai 1, .■songs by Mr Craighead and Mr Carson; vocal duets by Miss Down aiu« Mr Craighead ; pianoforte duet by Mrs -Carson and Miss Galbraith; humoious

anecdotes by Mr Craighead; and quartettes by the party. The accompanists were Mrs Craighead and Miss G. Galbraith. The singing of “God Save the King” concluded the programme, and the Rev. A. S. Morrison moved a vote of thanks to the concert party and those who. had assisted. Mr A. Garland then proceeded to auction some produce that had not been disposed of, after which Mr R. Croy announced approximately the proceeds from the various stalls and competitions as follow: —Plain sewing £1? 15s, fancy work £ls Os Id, sweets £lO 7s 4d, produce £ls 12s 4d, refreshments and concert £l6 13s, name oi doll competition 17s 6d. This was finally won by Mrs McFaxlane. Weight of cake competition £2 11s ll£d (won by Miss K. Penny), bran tubs £6 Is Bd, nail-driving 19s (won by Mr Paul Doig), candle-lighting 14s (won by Miss Rita Ironside), sheep-guessing £2 11s (won by L. Gould). With a few receipts still to come in, the total amount will thus be over £BO.

SPRINGBURN. The surrounding hills have put on their winter coats of snow, which give a very pleasing aspect,'but make their presence felt by sending , down cold, chilly winds to the plains; Ail day Monday the nor’-westers raged fiercely, but no damage was reported. The committee arranging tlie euchre parties and dances, on behalf of the ripi'ingburn School Committee, opened their season last Friday night. lhe showery weather was against a good attendance, but nevertheless enough attended to make the function a success. Mr D. A. Syme supplied the music, while Mr W. Eagle was M.C. The-committee has decided to depart from its old rule of prize-giving at the euchre socials. In previous years prizes were donated every evening, but tms was found to be too expensive, so this year it is intended to give one good prize to the winner of each section—that is to the one winning the highest aggregate of marks for the season.

HINDS. The Hinds Ladies’ Hockey Club celebrated the opening of the season by a dance in Hinds Hall on Friday evening. Mr F. Hampton acted as M.C., and Mr Beatty supplied the music. Miss E. Hill contributed two songs. ' On Sunday afternoon at So. Duke s Church the Rev. J. Hay gave a special address to the Sunday School children. The children’s Lenten offerings were received. Miss D. Penlington, 8.A., is acting as relieving mistress at the Hinas School. . , Before leaving for Omakau, where Mr R Hilliard has been appointed ganger, Mr and Mrs Hilliard were presented on Saturday evening with a beautiful oak clock by the railway staff at Hinds. Ganger Musson made the presentation, and in a neat speech l inferred to his work with Mr Hilliard. He wished Mr and Mrs Hilliard success in their , new home. Complimentary speeches were also made by messis Cottam (stationmaster), Hill (chief clerk), and S. Bird (surfaceman) Mr Hilliard, who has been leading hand for many years, suitably responded. Mrs Hilliard also thanked them for their kind exnressions and their beautiful present. * Musical items were rendered by Messrs Cottam, Musson. Bird, and Hilliard. Supper was. then dispensed, and a pleasant gathering broke up.

MOUNT SOMEfiS.

•j Thera was a good attendance at the weekly shoot of the Rifle Club on Tuesi day evening. Several new membeis 1 1 were admitted. A terrific northerly I storm was raging, which greatly attect!cd shooting. Best scores were as 'follow: E. Gifkins 32—31, G. Bland 132—30, Leo. Hood 31, J. Gorne 31— j 29, C. Gundry 30—29. ~ ! At a meeting of the Memorial Hah ! Committee held on Thursday .a coih- | plete balance-sheet was submitted of the financial transactions of the hall. , It was decided to have same nnnted ! and a copy forwarded to each subscriber j There was a fair attendance at the annual meeting of the Men’s Club held in the parish room on Friday evening. The Rev. J. T. Paddison presided. The balance-sheet was read and adopted. A syllabus for the ensuing . year was adopted and ordered to be printed. It is intended to hold a mock banauet and dance on Friday next, to winch admission will be membership fee. The ladies will be the guests of the evening. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded the retiring president (Rev. J. T. Paddison) apd the secretary (Mr J. Bull). Office-bearers were elected as follow:—President, Rev. J. T. Paddison; vice-presidents. Hon. W. Nosworthv. Major Bond, Cantain R. B. Neill," Messrs F. Peter, C. J. Peter, R Noswortliy, R. Peache, G. Bland, J." Hood, and W. Gifkins: committee. Messrs F. Gifkins, P. H. Jones. L. G. Hood, G. Chiijg, and G. Williams; secretary and treasurer, Mr J. T. Bull. Rain "fell on nine days during April, totalling 494 -oints. .... A successful dance was held in the hall on Saturday evening in aid of the Library Building Fund